PMN banner

A National Ocean Service/National Center for Coastal Ocean Science Program

Phytoplankton Monitoring Network

Promoting a better understanding of harmful algal blooms by way of volunteer monitoring

Contest Rules

Contest Rules

Mystery Plankton

Each month of the school year, a new mystery plankton will be posted to the PMN website. During the first week of the month, the mystery plankton will be disguised, showing only one piece of the entire plankton picture. After the first week of the month, the rest of the mystery phytoplankton puzzle will be revealed. Any time during the month, you can submit an entry. But be careful, you can only submit one entry each month!

Correct Answer Submitted:
First Week - One Puzzle Piece = Name in drawing 5 times
After First Week - All Puzzle Pieces = Name in drawing 1 time

Eligibility:
Volunteers of the Phytoplankton Monitoring Network or students of teachers who are active members of the PMN. Volunteers are limited to two prizes per school calendar year (August to August).

Entries:
Each volunteer is allowed one entry per month. Only the first submitted entry from a volunteer will be considered. Multiple entries per plankter are not allowed and will disqualify the volunteer for the remainder of the contest year. All entries must be submitted via e-mail before the stated deadline. E-mail time stamps will be used for verification of entry submission.

All entries must contain the following:

  • Your name
  • Genus (and species if required) of month's plankter
  • Brief note about its taxonomy (phytoplankton, zooplankton, diatom, dinoflagellate, etc)
  • Choice of prize
  • Volunteer category
    • Student: name of teacher and name of school
    • Educator: name of school/university at which you are a teacher
    • Environmental or citizen group: name of community group
    • Park and recreational facility: name of facility
    • Other: please describe

Winners:
The winner will be chosen by random draw from the total pool of correct identification entries. The winner will be notified via email and announced through the website.

Prizes:
Prizes include publication of name on the PMN website and in the PMN Newsletter: Plankton News. In addition, the winning entry drawn will receive their choice of: